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mRNA molecule signatures useful in identification of melanoma

Use of two mRNA molecule signatures helped accurately identify melanoma from nevi, according to study findings.

Researchers used cells obtained from the surface of melanocytic lesions through an adhesive patch method to extract mRNA.

The researchers found that the genes CMIP and LINC00518 performed the best among all of the gene pairs assessed in an independent validation set of 42 melanomas and 22 nevi. CMIP and LINC00518 demonstrated the ability to differentiate between melanomas and nevi with a 97.6% sensitivity and a 72.7% specificity.

The researchers concluded that the use of mRNA molecule signatures can be a highly useful, noninvasive method for identifying melanomas from nevi, therefore reducing the number of unnecessary biopsies performed.

Disclosures: See the study for a full list of all authors’ relevant financial disclosures.